The Radio Game
by tay15cchs
Summary: Castle and Beckett play a game during a long ride. What could possibly happen?


_**The Radio Game**_

"You wanna play the radio game?" Castle asked giddily. Kate shot a quick side glance at him in the passenger seat.

"The what?" They had been in the car for about 30 minutes. They were coming back from a new crime scene that was about an hour from the precinct, not accounting for the insane New York traffic. Kate sighed. Castle had made it all the way to the crime scene without being too annoying, so she figured it was inevitable for the 9-year-old to show up sometime.

"The radio game. You ask a question, then push the SEEK button, and whatever song is playing is your answer. Come on, Beckett, let's play."

"Ok, Castle, whatever," she rolled her eyes. "You go first."

Castle clapped his hands together in celebration of her uncharacteristically quick aquiescence. He straightened up a bit in his seat, cleared his throat, and said, "How quickly will we solve this case?" He turned the radio on and hit SEEK.

**I've got to remember this is just a game. It's a beautiful lie. It's a perfect denial, such a beautiful lie to believe in. Such a beautiful, beautiful lie.**

"Aw, great. It's gonna be a long one," Castle groaned.

"How do you get that from that song?" Beckett asked, slightly irritated because she had had a gut feeling that this was going to be a difficult case to crack.

"Well, it's a beautiful lie, so I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of crazy twists and turns, everyone covering up for everyone else." Beckett just rolled her eyes. "Okay, your turn, Detective."

Kate thought for a minute, then smiled mischievously and asked, "Am I going to shoot Castle before this case is over?" She smirked at Castle's worried face, and pushed the SEEK button.

**Now you gushin', ambulance rushin' you to the hospital with a bad concussion. 'Cuz you hit full time, brotha hit your spine. Now you're wheelchair bound. You lucky to be alive.**

Immediately, all color drained from Castle's face, and Kate couldn't suppress her laughter. "Well, well, Castle, you better be on your best behavior this case." Castle could only swallow and nod.

As Kate was still trying to control her helpless giggles, Castle said indignantly, "That's not funny." He thought for a second and came up with his next question. In an effort to get back at Kate for her question, he asked, "How happy was Detective Beckett when I left last summer?" Kate's laughter cut off abruptly as she sucked in her breath. Castle looked questioningly at her, trying to read her face, wondering why she quit laughing, and hit SEEK.

**The way that it was and could've been surrounds me. I'll never get over you walking away. And I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show, and I thought that being strong meant never losing your self-control. But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain. To heck with my pride – let it fall like rain from my eyes. Tonight I wanna cry.**

Beckett gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles were white and bit her lip, avoiding Castle's eyes at all costs. Castle almost laughed at the song until he glanced at his partner and saw her stock-straight in the driver's seat, not looking at him. Instead, Castle sat there stunned, mouth agape, staring at Beckett. Obviously the song was right because she wouldn't look at him. He didn't know what he could possibly say. How could he have been so blind? And he hadn't even called! Stupid! _That _was why everyone was so ticked at him when he came back. Instead of trying to talk to her – he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't say anything – he decided to ask the radio another question.

"Was Kate ok while I was gone?" His voice was barely a whisper.

**I'm doing fine now, I've finally moved on. It's not so bad. I'm not that sad. I'm not surprised just how well I've survived. I'm over the worst, and I feel so alive. I can't complain, I'm free again. It only hurts when I'm breathing. My heart only breaks when it's beating. My dreams only die when I'm dreaming, so I hold my breath to forget.**

The breath was completely knocked out of Castle. He looked up at Kate and saw that she was fighting back tears. _I did this to her. Why? How could I be so stupid?___Again, he knew that she wasn't ready to talk, so he asked, "How did she feel about Gina showing up?"

**And she's walkin' around like the girl of your dreams with her Angelina lips, double zero jeans. Can't believe I didn't see this comin' around. She's just so beautiful. I'm just an average girl.**

This time, Kate had to pull over because unshed tears were blurring her eyes so much. She vigorously wiped them away and sniffed. She chanced a look at Castle and saw that he was frozen, staring out the windshield. It made her smile that he was so torn up about this.

"How did Kate feel when Castle told her he's broken up with Gina just days after she's broken things off with Josh?" Castle looked at her, eyes full of hope.

**California girls, we're unforgettable. Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top.**

"Oh come on!" Kate laughed. "It worked every time for you, and then BAM, it makes me sound stupid. I _**hate**_ this game!"

"I know! Isn't it _**great**_?"


End file.
